Machine for cutting disks



April 8 1924. 1,489,825

A. N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR CUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 8. 1921 6Sheets-Sheet l N $1 g3 8m0mtoz M A {2. W;

83 Clue 014%? A I wwwa Afiril 8 1924." 1,489,825

A. L. N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR. CUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 8. 1921 6Sheets-Sheet 2 lhl A ia! s, 1924.

-A. L. ,N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR CUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 8. 1921 6Sheets-Sheet 5 A. L. N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR CUTTING DISKS Aprii 8 {1924*6 Sheeis-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 8, 1921' April 8 1924. 1,489,825

v, A. N. FLEMING MACHINE FOR GUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 1921 6Sheets-Sheet 5 April 8 1924. 1,489,825 7 A. L. N. FLEMING MACHINE FORCUTTING DISKS Filed Dec. 8. 1921 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

; STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST L. N. FLEMING, F LYNDHURST, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGN OR TO MIIIGCA MA.-CHIN ERY COMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING DISKS.

Application filed December 8, 1921. Serial 1103520355.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, AUGUST L. N. FLEM- ING, a citizen of France, andresident of Lyndhurst, county of Bergen, and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for CuttingDisks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to disc-cutting machines and more particularly tomachines for cutting disks from units or sections of cork for use ascork seals and the like, and

has for its object to provide a machine of novel and simple constructionwhereby the efficiency of the cutting operation and the productive speedare increased to a maximum extent and whereby waste of material isreduced to a minimum. Other morespecific objects will appear more fullyfrom the description hereinafter and the features of novelty will bepointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Which illustrate an example of theinvention without defining its limits, Figure 1 is a sec tionalelevation of the machine; Fig. 1 is a detail sectional View; Fig. 2 is acrosssection, 0n an enlarged scale, on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isa horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Figs. 4 and 5 are detailsections taken, respectively, on the lines 4-4 and 55 of Fig. 1; Figs. 6and 7 are vertical sections taken. respec tively, on the lines 66 and 77of Fig. 1; Figs. 8 (and 9 are fragmentaryq sections similar to Fig. 1,and Fig. 10 isa diagrammatic illustration of the cutting process.

As shown in the drawings, the machine vomprises a base or tablesupported upon legs 16; a frame 17 is mounted upon said base, preferablyso as to be capable of being tilted to an inoperative position withrespect thereto for the purpose to be more fully described hereinafter.Thus, as illustrated. the frame 17 may be pivotally connected at 18 withthe base 15 and may be rigidly locked in its operative position, forinstance, by means of bolts 19 and co-operating lugs 20 formed on thebase and on the frame.

A flanged drum 21 is fixed upon a shaft 21 rotatably mounted upon theframe 17 and is provided with a plurality of peripheral grooves 22, thepurpose of which will appear more fully hereinafter. An endless feed thematerial into the machine and passes in contact with the -surface ofsaid drum and over rollers 24 and 25 carried by shafts 26 and 27journalled upon the frame 17; the belt 23 further passes over a roller28 which is mounted ,upon a shaft 29 journalled in arms 30 pivotallyconnected with the frame 17 by means of the shaft 27, as shown inFig. 1. Springs 31 serve to draw the arms 30 toward the drum 21 wherebythe one run of the belt 23 is maintained in yielding contact with saiddrum or with the material passing therethrough and exerts a frictionalpressure thereon; bellcrank levers 32 pivoted upon the shaft 26 carry atension roller 33 and serve to maintain saidbelt 23 under the desiredtension by the action of suitable springs 34. The belt 23 is positivelydriven coincidentally with the periodical step-by-step movement of thedrum, to be described hereinafter, b means of pinions 35 and a gear 36Whic meshes with a gear 37 fixed upon the. drum shaft 21. 'The drum 21,in turn, is advanced in predetermined steps by means of a ratchet wheel38 carried by the shaft 21 and a co-operating pawl 39 pivoted upon alever 40 mounted to rock upon said shaft 21; the lever 40 isreciprocated by means of a rod 41 pivotally connected at 42 with an arm43, the latter being preferably provided with a slot 43 in which theconnection 42 is adjustable to vary the throw of the lever 40 andconsequently the step-bystep feed of the drum 21. The arm 43 is carriedby a shaft 44 journalled in bearing brackets 45, which depend from thebase 15, as shown in Fig. 1. The shaft 44 further has fixed thereon anarm 46 provided with a slot 47 in which a block 48 is slidably movable.The block 48 is pivotally connected by means: of a pin 49 located upon adisk 50 carried by a main driving shaft 51 journalled in suitablebearings forming part of or secured to the base 15. The driving shaftreceives its rotative motion in any convenient manner as, for instance,by means of a pulley 52 driven through the medium of a belt. which hasbeen omitted for the sake of clearness.

An auxiliary, stationary frame 53 is fixed upon the frame 17 andincludes a plate 53 located in juxtaposition to the drum 21 and carryinga member 54 which extends tan- 22 of the drum 21, as shown in Figs. 1, 6

and 7. The member 54: may constitute an integral extension of the plate53 or co1nprise a separate element suitably connected therewith. Asshown in Figs. 1 and 5, the stationary plate 53 is provided at itsopposite edges with preferablyintegral guide flanges 53 the purpose ofwhich will appear more fully hereinafter. A plurality of feed rollers 56carried by shafts 57 are journalled upon the auxiliary frame 58 and havetheir peripheries extending into recesses 58 formed in the plate 53, thearrangement being such that the peripheries of the feed rollers 56 lieslightly beyond the outer surface of the plate 53 as shown in Fig. 1.Each of the shafts 57 carries a gear 59 operatively connected throughthe medium of gears 60 and positively driven by means of a gear 61 whichmeshes with the "previously mentioned gear 37 carried by the shaft 21. Asupplemental frame 62 is pivotally connected with the arm 30 by means ofthe shaft 29 and depends from the latter in juxtaposition to theauxiliary frame 53, as'shown in Fig. 1. The supplemental frame is formedwith a plate 63 which, asshownin- Fig. 5, projects between the guideflanges 53 into'close proximity to the plate 53 'and is also providedwith recesses 641 for the accon'unoda-tion of feed rollers 65 carriedbyshafts 66, the peripheries of said feed rollers 65 extending slightlybeyond the plate 68. The arrangement is such that the feed rollers 65are located in registry with the feed rollers 56 and co-operatetherewith to feed the material through the machine, as will behereinafter more fully pointedout. The feed rollers 65 are positivelydriven by means of gears 67 located upon the shaft- 66 and operativelyconnected through the medium of gears 68, the actual operation of thefeed rollers 65 being effected through the medium of a gear 69 whichmeshes with one of the pinions 35, as shown in Fig. 1. The supplementalframe 62 is constructed with exten sions 70-to each of which one end ofsprings 71' is connected, the other end of said springs being attachedto hooks 72 located, for instance, upon the legs 16. in the preferredconstruction links 73 are connected at 7% with the extensions 70 and at75 with arms 76 comprising integral extensions-of the auxiliary frame53; with the described arrangement the supplemental frame 62 is movablymounted by means of the arms 30 and links 73 and thus is flexibleand'yielding, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter. The parts areso dimensioned and located that during the operation of the machine thesprings 31 and 71 will exert a tension-whereby the supplemental frame 62is drawn toward the right in Fig. 1 to maintain the feed rollers 65 inproper co-operative relation with the feed rollers 56.

The machine further includes a plurality of cutting devices which, inthe illustrated example, are shown in the form of tubular knives 77, 77and 77 The l-:nives are each carried by a tubular member 78,preferablyin such a manner as to be readily detachable therefrom, forinstance, by being screwed into the same, as shown in Fig. 1. Themembers 78, in turn, are each fixed in a sleeve 7 9 rotatably mounted inbearings 80, which form part of a traveling head 81. The latter isslidably mounted in guideways 82 forming part of the base 15 andisreciprocated toward and away from the drum 21 by means of an arm 88fixed upon the shaft is and preferably having a circular head 8st seatedin a socket or recess 8 1 of the traveling head 81. The knives 77, 77and 77 are rotated about their axes, for instance, through the medium ofa power-driven belt 85, which passes over pulleys 86, each secured uponone of the sleeves 79 and over idler pulleys 87 rotatably mounted uponextensions 88 of the traveling head 81. Ejecting rods 89 project axiallythrough the members 78 and knives 77, 77 and 77 and are carried by astationary bracket 90 suitably secured upon the base 15. For the purposeof securing, the greatest economy of operation and to prevent waste ofmaterial, the knives 77, 77 and 7 7 are located above each other alongan inclined line, as shown in Fig. 2,

the relation being such that the cuts made by the knives will be instaggered relation to each other and with a n'iinimum of spacetherebetween, as clearly shown in the diagrammatic illustration of Fig.10. In addition to the parts so far described, the machine niayinclude ashield 91 located between the cutting knivcs and the feeding mechanisn'iand provided with apertures 92 through which the knives 77, 77 and 77are arranged to project in the operation of the machine. In thepreferred form the shield may be continued to include a receptacle 93for the disks of material which are cut by the knives previouslymentioned. It will be understood that the feed rollers 65 are formed atthe proper points with peripheral recesses 65, as shown in Fig. 6, topermit the passage of the cutting knives to the material. in theoperation of the machine.

In describing the operation of the machine, it will be assumed that itis being used for the purpose of cutting disks of cork of the type whichare customarily used as closures in' combination with bottle caps forthis purpose, it will be understood that it may also be used for cuttingdisks from other materials with equal efficiency. With the parts in theposition shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings and assuming that the pulley 52is being driven in the direction indicated by the arrow, the block 48,through the medium of the pin 49 and disk 50, will be caused to describea circular path in the indicated direction and thereby will swing thearm 46 to the right in Fig. 1 and will correspondingly rock the shaft44. This movement of the shaft 44 will be communicated to the arm 43 andwill exert a pull upon the rod 41 whereby the lever 40 and pawl 39 willbe operated toward the left in Fig. 1 in a movement of recovery. At thesame time the arm 83 will be swung toward the right in Fig. 1 and willcorrespondingly shift the traveling head 81 in the guides 82 and thuswill cause the knives 77, 77 and 77 to be similarly moved through theapertures 92 and the recesses of the rollers 65 into engagement with thesheet of cork a, which is clamped between the plates 53 and 63 by theaction of the springs 31 and 71 and thus firmly held in position. As themachine continues to operate the knives 77, 7 7 and 7 7 will penetratethe material a and will cut therefrom a series of disks, one of whichwill remain seated in the end of each knife. As the operation of thepulley 52 continues, the block 48 will finally swing the arm 46 towardthe left in Fig. l and through the medium of the shaft 44 will similarlyoperate the lever 83 whereby the traveling head 81 and the knives 7 7 77 and 77 will be correspondingly moved to the left or back to theirnormal position. This return movement of the knives being relative tothe ejecting rods 89 will cause these rods to finally exert a pressureupon each of the disks of material seated in the ends of said kniveswhereby said disks will be ejected from the knives and deposited in thereceptacle 93. It will be understood that during the reciprocatingmovements of the parts, the knives 77, 77 and 77 are continuouslyrotated by means of the belt 85 so that the action thereof is a truecutting action and not a punching operation whereby the disks are cutcleanly from the sheet a and are not punched therefrom. As a matter offact, the rotation of the knives is continuous during the operation ofthe machine.

Coincidentally with the return of the traveling head 81 and-the knivesto their normal positions, a push will be exerted upon the rod 41through the medium of the arm 43 whereby the pawl 39 will be caused torotate the ratchet 38 and thereby rotatably advance the drum 21; thisoperation of the drum 21 carries with it the gear 37 and consequently,operates the belt 23 and also the feed rollers 56 and 65 whereby thesheet of material a is advanced relatively to the plates 53 and 63 to acorresponding extent. During this movement the material is guidedbetween the guide flanges 53 and the plates 53 and 63 and is preventedthere-1 a and eventually deposited in the recep table 93.

The member 54 with its fingers 55 serves to properly guide the materiala between the plates 53 and 63 and prevents the same from leaving itsintended path. During the cutting operation the material a is firmly andsecurely clamped in position between the plates 53 and 63 by the actionof the springs 31 and 71; the auxiliary frame and supplemental frame or,specifically, the plate 53*, flanges 53 and plate 63 thereof serve toguide the material in a manner to hold it against buckling and lateralshifting and to clamp it in its position of rest for cutting. In somecases, instead of passing a continuous sheet of material a through themachine, as indicated in Fig. 1, a plurality of relatively thin sheets amay be passed therethrough, as indicated in Fig. 9, or a plurality ofsheets a of different dimensions maybe fed through, as indicated in Fig.8. In either case, the supplemental frame 62, because of its flexiblemounting, and its feed rollers 65 will adapt themselves to theconditions imposed by the type of material being fed and existing at thetime to properly feed said material and to firmly fix it in positionduring the cutting operation; it will be understood that if the materialfed through the machine is as indicated by a and 07, a plurality ofdisks will be simultaneously cut by each of the knives 77, 77* and 77and will be coincidentally ejected into the receptacle 93, as previouslydescribed.

The action of the driving mechanism, that is, the block 48, connection49 and disk-50. is such that the arm 46 and consequently the travelinghead 81 with the cutting knives will be advanced in the operativedirection toward the right in Fig. 1 with a comparatively slow movement,including an infinitesimal period of restv when the cutting position isreached whereby the most effective cutting action of the knives issecured; during this movement the pawl 39 describes a movement ofrecovery. At the same time the movement of the arm 46 in the Oppositedirection is accomplished at a higher speed so that the return movementof the traveling head 81 and the knives 77, 77 and 77 toward theirnormal position is quickly accomplished and at the same time the feedingmovement of the material is brought about at relatively high speed. Theoperation of the machine and its capacity is thus maintained at thehighest point.

The machine is simple in construction and efficient in operation andprovides a mechanism whereby disks of material. and more particularly ofcork, may readily be cut in large quantities with a minimum of waste andin a completely automatic manner. In order to prevent the cutting edgesof the knives from becoming dulled or inoperative too quickly, the plate53, as shown in Fig. 1, may he provided with grooves or recesses 94:arranged to provide clearance for thecutting edges of the knives whilein their cutting positions; in some cases, packings 94 of lead or othersuitable material may be located in said recesses, as shown in Fig. 1,it being understood that, in such case, these packings are positioned inregistry with the knives and are always of such a nature as to exertpractically no injurious action upon the cutting edges thereof.

Various modifications in the specific form shown and described may bemade within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit ofmy invention.

I claim:

1. A disc-cutting machine comprising a drum provided with a plurality ofannular grooves, means co-operating therewith to feed the material,combined feeding and clamping mechanism located adjacent to said drum, amember or 'ried by said combined feeding and clamping means and havingfingers arranged to project into said grooves of the drum, a pluralityof cutting devices, and means for coincidentally moving said cuttingdevices toward and away from the material in said combined clamping andfeeding means.

2. A disc-cutting machine comprising a drum provided with a plurality ofannular grooves, means co-operating therewith to feed the material,combined feeding and clamping mechanismlocated adjacent to said drum. amember carried by said combined feeding and clamping means and havingfingers arranged to project into said grooves of the drum, a carriagemovable toward and away from said combined feeding and clamping means, aplurality of rotatable cutting devices located upon said carriage, andmechanism for reciprocating said carriage and for operating said drumand feeding means in predetermined steps.

3. A disc-cutting machine comprising a 1 greases.

drum, .an endless belt co-operating therewith to feed the material in acurved path, a stationary auxiliary frame, feed rollers rotatablymounted thereon, a movable supplemental frame, feed rollers thereonco-operating with the first-named feed rollers to feed the material in alinear direction and to clamp it against movement, gearing operatively.connecting all of said feed rollers and said endless belt with saiddrum, a plurality of cutting devices movable toward and away from saidmaterial, and mechanism for reeiprocating said cutting devices and foroperatingsaid drum, endless belt and feed rollers in predeterminedsteps.

i. A disc-tinting machine comprising a drum, an endless beltco-operating therewith to feed the material in a curved path, astationary, auxiliary frame, feed rollers rotatably mounted thereon, amovable supplemental frame, feed rollers thereon co-operating with thefirst-named feed rollers to feed the material in a linear direction andto clamp it against movement, gearing operatively connecting all of saidfeed rollers and said endless belt with said drum, a traveling headslidable toward and away from the material, tubular cutting memberslocated upon said traveling head at spaced intervals along an inclinedline, means whereby cutting knives are rotated about their axes andmechanism for reciprocating said traveling head and for operating saiddrum, belt and feeding rollers in predetermined steps.

5. A disc-cutting machine comprising a support, a frame pivotallymounted upon said support, a drum rotatably mounted upon said frame, anendless belt mounted upon. said frame and co-operating with said drum tofeed the material, an auxiliary frame connected with said first-namedframe, a supplemental frame connected with said first-named frame, aplurality of feed rollers on said auxiliary and supplemental framesco-ope-rating to feed the material and to clamp the same againstmovement, a

spring for drawing the supplemental frame toward the auxiliary frame,gearing connecting said feed rollers and said endless belt with saiddrum, a pawl and ratchet mechanism connected with said drum, a rockshaft connected with said pawl and ratchet mechanism for actuating thelatter in predetermined steps, a traveling head slidable toward and awayfrom the supplemental frame, a plurality of tubular cutting membersrotatably mounted upon said traveling head in spaced relation along aninclined line, means for rotating said cutting mem bers about theiraxes, an arm mounted upon said rock shaft and connected with saidtraveling head, a slotted arm on said rock shaft, mechanism foroscillating said arm whereby said traveling head is reciprocated andsaid pawl and ratchet mechanism is actuated, and stationary ejectingrods for ejecting the cutdisks from said cylindrical cutting devices.

6. A disc cutting machine comprising a feed drum, an endless beltco-operating with said drum to feed the material in a curved path, afixed support, feed rollers thereon, a movable support, co-operatingfeed rollers thereon for feeding the material in a straight path and forautomatically yielding and adjusting themselves in accordance with thematerial being fed and means for cutting disks from said material.

7. A disc cutting machine comprising a feed drum, an endless beltco-operating with said drum to feed the material in a curved path, afixed guide member, feed rollers thereon, an adjustable guide member,feed rollers thereon for feeding the material in a straight path and forautomatically adjusting themselves in conformity with the material beingfed, means for intermittently driving said feed rollers, belt and drum,and springs whereby said rollers are caused to grip said material.

8. In a disc cutting machine, a stationary plate, a plurality of feedrollers mounted thereon, a supplemental plate pivotably movable andprovided with openings, a plurality of feed rollers on said supplementalplate provided with grooves in registry with said openings andco-operating with said first-named feed rollers to feed the material, aplurality of rotary cutters, means for adjusting said cutters throughthe spaces between the grooves of adjacent feed rollers and through saidopenings to cut disks from said material and means whereby said platesare caused to clamp said material during the cut-ting operation.

9. In adisc cutting machine, a stationary plate, a plurality of feedrollers mounted thereon, a supplemental plate pivotally movable, aplurality of feed rollers on said supplemental plate co-operating withsaid first-named feed rollers to feed the material, means i'or cuttingdisks from said material and springs whereby said supplemental plate ispermitted to automatically adjust its feed rollers to the material andto clamp the latter during the cutting operation.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

AUGUST L. N. FLEMING.

